The Lincoln Sparrows 



opportunity to compare lincolni and melodia (morphna) at short range. 

 Singularly enough, the jealous Lincoln, who had just furiously evicted a 

 Yellow Warbler from the home nesting tree, allowed the Song Sparrow to 

 sit unchallenged at a foot's remove. Lincolni was not only the smaller 

 bird, but it was more lightly colored, and it had a sharp-cut streakiness 

 of plumage which does not characterize melodia. A comparison of many 

 examples, however, showed the similarity of head pattern between the 



Take. 



Bernardino County 



NEST AND EGGS OF LINCOLN SONG SPARROW 



Photo by Wright M. Pierce 



two sparrows to be very noticeable, while the buffy tinge of the Lincoln's 

 breast would appear to be one of its least constant marks. 



The claims to recognition of an alleged subspecies, M. I. striata 

 Brewster, are not at all impressive. Granting the validity of the meager 

 characters claimed, as between breeding specimens from Alaska and those 

 of our own mountains, the attempt to distinguish winter specimens breaks 

 down utterly ; and you may report either lincolni or striata from Berkeley 

 or San Diego, according to the state of your digestion or the prevailing 

 fashion in eyelashes. If the latter are worn drooping this year, you 

 pretend to see more streaks; that's all. 



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